The chancellor must “deliver” on his promise to make education a priority by providing investment for a “significant” pay rise for teachers, a headteachers’ leader has warned.
Speaking at an event at Bloomberg today, chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out four key “pillars” he identified as vital for growth, of which one was education.
He added that “our teachers and lecturers are some of the best in the world”, but warned: “There is much to improve.”
Responding to the speech, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was “pleased” to see that the chancellor had made education one of his priorities, but said: “He now needs to deliver on that promise.”
Mr Barton said the “erosion” in the real value of teacher and leader pay over the last decade had “led to a recruitment and retention crisis that is already damaging educational standards”.
He continued: “The chancellor is right to say the UK has some of the very best teachers in the world, but one-third of them are leaving the profession within five years for jobs with better pay and conditions.”
In his speech, Mr Hunt warned about some school leavers being left behind, saying: “We don’t do nearly as well for the 50 per cent of school leavers who do not go to university as we do for those who do.
“We have around 9 million adults with low basic literacy or numeracy skills; over 100,000 people leaving school every year unable to reach the required standard in English and maths. That matters”.
Ambitions hinge on ‘significant’ teacher pay rise
Responding, Mr Barton said: “The chancellor is equally right to identify the importance of children leaving school with basic skills in reading and maths, and the role that technical qualifications play in equipping people with the skills they need for future employment.
“But any ambitions to improve education rely on schools having a qualified teacher in every classroom, something that is becoming more and more difficult to achieve. Providing the investment needed for a significant pay rise for teachers that will begin to address the recruitment and retention crisis must be the immediate priority.”
Mr Barton’s comments were echoed by NEU teaching union joint general secretary Kevin Courtney, who said that while the chancellor was “correct” to say that our teachers rank among the best in the world, he was “silent” on the fact that the government has “repeatedly missed its teacher recruitment targets and that a third of the teachers who qualified in the last decade have quit”.
“Ministers need to get a grip on the recruitment and retention crisis in education. They could start by giving the fully funded, above-inflation pay rise that is needed to keep teachers and support staff in the classroom,” he added.
Teacher members of the NEU are set to go on strike next week over pay after a successful ballot.
And Tes revealed yesterday that the Department for Education will miss the deadline for submitting its evidence on teacher pay levels for next year to the independent pay review body.
According to an email seen by Tes, the delay is due to the DfE not yet having “finalised views agreed cross-government on the affordability position to put forward to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB)”.
